Life Journey through Autism Series

OAR has published eight Life Journey guidebooks and The Best of The OARacle to date. You can read their descriptions, preview each online, or download copies at no cost below. They are also available in hard copy for a donation of $5.00 per copy. To order, please visit OAR's shopping cart.

No parental instinct is as intense and fundamental as protecting one’s child from harm. For parents of children with autism, safety risks become magnified because of challenges resulting from fixations with narrow interests, limited situational awareness, and sensory and communication issues. So why should parents expect to do it all alone?

A Guide to Safety was written by parents, first responders, educators, and community members who share their strategies and resources to address safety threats that commonly arise during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. This tool will educate parents about how to prevent and mitigate emergency events, safety threats that may affect their child in the future, and how to teach safety habits that will build a foundation for safety in adulthood.

A Guide to Safety covers a range of topics, including:

Safety network development

Prevention and management of wandering and elopement behaviors

Relationship, physical, and sexual safety discussions

Strategies to address bullying and online threats

Tips on money and workplace safety

It also includes sample identification documents, advice from an adult self-advocate, evidence-based safety skills lesson plans, and more.

The guide can be used independently or as a supplement to a pre-existing safety plan. It is also an excellent tool for developing first responder training programs.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the Guide, please fill out a request form. To download the guide, click the cover below.

A Parent’s Guide to Research

Having a child diagnosed within the autism spectrum presents a series of immediate challenges for parents. Trying to understand a complex, spectrum disorder like autism, which encompasses classic autism, Asperger Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder- Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), is difficult enough in a purely academic setting. When parents are confronted with the shock of an autism diagnosis for their child, combined with the responsibility to try to make the right treatment choices as soon as possible, critical decisions become extremely difficult. And even well-intentioned but not fully informed people sometimes pursue unverified and possibly dangerous treatment alternatives based on unreliable information from web sites, hearsay, and the media.

OAR addresses this situation through the creation of a basic primer on autism research for use as a reference by parents. A Parent’s Guide to Research includes a glossary of terms, an overview of scientific research, how to determine if a particular study may or may not be pertinent to a particular child, and questions to ask with respect to treatments, therapies, and other methodologies under consideration. The Guide is currently available as a publication as well as a downloadable document on this web site. OAR provides the Guide at no cost to parents and families affected by autism, that is, those who have a child diagnosed on the autism spectrum.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the Guide, please visit OAR's shopping cart. To download the guide, click the cover below.

Download A Parent's Guide to Research (1.8 MB)
To download right click on the above link and choose "Save Target As" to save the guide to your PC. You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the Guide.

An Educator’s Guide to Autism

** Available for backorder **

AnEducator’s Guide to Autism, the second book in the Life Journey through Autism series of resource guides published by the Organization for Autism Research provides parents, teachers and education professionals with a plan for teaching a child with autism in the general elementary classroom setting.

The heart of AnEducator’s Guide to Autism is a six-step approach for a teacher preparing to teach a child with autism in his or her classroom. The steps include the following: (1) educate yourself (2) reach out to parents (3) prepare the classroom (4) educate peers and set social goals (5) collaborate on the implementation of an educational program and (6) manage behavioral challenges. The discussion of each step includes practical tips on what a teacher should look for and how to navigate the challenges that may arise. Following these steps offers the teacher the potential to create the most favorable educational environment for all learners in the classroom, including the student with autism.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the Guide, please visit OAR's shopping cart. To download the guide, click the cover below.

Download An Educator’s Guide to Autism To download right click on the above link and choose "Save Target As" to save the guide to your PC. You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the Guide.

An Educator’s Guide to Asperger Syndrome

An Educator’s Guide to Asperger Syndrome is the third book in the Life Journey Through Autism resource guide series. Asperger Syndrome is a complex disorder that presents numerous challenges within the inclusive classroom setting. This book provides guidelines for meeting the needs of the student with Asperger Syndrome in your class, from elementary to high school. Specifically, the Guidebook contains information on

Understanding the common characteristics of Asperger Syndrome and how they affect each child on a case by case basis

Promoting positive social goals and educating peers to avoid bullying

Cooperating with the parents and student’s IEP team

Implementing strategies to better facilitate learning in the student with Asperger Syndrome.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the Guide, please visit OAR's shopping cart. To download the guide, click the cover below.

A Guide for Transition to Adulthood

Adulthood is more than just a chronological state. Adulthood represents a time in one's life where there are increased levels of independence, choice, responsibility, and personal control. Adulthood is the defining period of one's life and, while we may look back fondly on our childhood, it is our accomplishments as adults for which we are generally most proud. Why, then, should adulthood for the person with an autism spectrum disorder be viewed any differently? In this, the fourth volume in the OAR Life Journey Through Autism series, we provide an overview of the Transition-to-Adulthood process, with an emphasis on:

The importance of early planning beginning no later than age 16 years and at times, as early as 14 years or younger

Collaboration between the transitioning individual, their family and friends, interested community members, the schools' professional staff, and representatives from adult service systems in the transition to adulthood process

The significance of community-based instruction in the development of skills associated with a more independent adulthood

The reality that individualized, effective transition planning is effortful and time consuming but when done well, can result in a fulfilling life as an adult

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the Guide, please visit OAR's shopping cart. To download the guide, click the cover below.

In addition, OAR collaborated with the District of Columbia Public Schools to produce a short resource entitled Understanding Autism: An Employer’s Guide to help front line supervisors support their employees with autism. Click here to download the guide.

A Parent's Guide to Assessment

The formal assessment process can be a daunting experience for parents of children newly diagnosed with autism. By using highly technical language and focusing on “deficit performance,” assessments can often overwhelm and dishearten parents. In addition, outcomes are rarely explained in terms that parents can use to set goals for their children. This new Parent’s Guide to Assessment will serve to provide the tools to better understand the assessment process and, subsequently, utilize assessment outcomes to improve services and interventions for their children.

Among the topics covered in the Assessment guide will be:

The strengths and weaknesses of the assessment process

The technical language contained in the reports

Who is qualified to complete an assessment

What specific assessment tools measure

How to interpret the results in a way that informs proactive, individual decision making

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the Guide, please visit OAR's shopping cart. To download the guide, click the cover below.

To download right click on the above link and choose "Save Target As" to save the guide to your PC. You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the Guide.

A Guide for Military Families

Military sources indicate that more than 13,000 military dependents, the majority of them children, have some form of autism. Their families face all the emotions and challenges that accompany having a child diagnosed with autism, compounded by the realities of military service: war, extended family separation, frequent moves, varying
access to specialized healthcare, and other
stressors that complicate and often work against effective treatment for children with
autism. These families need help navigating these uncharted and difficult waters.

This Guide and its companion Web site (www.operationautismonline.org) are designed for these families. The purpose of these resources is to give each family the tools and access to information that it
needs on its unique life journey through autism. More specifically, the goals of this Guide are to provide:

An understanding of autism and related intervention and treatment

Strategies for addressing the challenges of autism from the time of diagnosis
through adulthood

An overview of the Department of Defense (DoD) and service policies related
to having a child with autism

Information on autism treatment options and coverage within the military
healthcare system

Practical information and tools to guide your child’s education

Tips and advice relative to transitions such as permanent change of station (PCS) moves, new schools and more

Links to additional resources relative to autism and military families

OAR offers print copies of this guide free of charge to parents in the military and DoD employees (one copy per family, please). To take advantage of this offer, go to the Operation Autism Web site located at http://www.operationautismonline.org/about-operation-autism/contact-us. Be sure to specify your interest in A Guide for Military Families and include your affiliation and rank, as well as the address to which you would like the book mailed.

To download right click on the above link and choose "Save Target As" to save the guide to your PC. You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the Guide.

Navigating the Special Education System

As the number of children being diagnosed on the spectrum continues to increase, more children with autism are attending public school than ever before. Many teachers, administrators, and school support staff lack the background and training to meet the unique needs of students with autism. It falls to the parents to make sure that their child’s challenges, whether with social interactions, communication, or behavior, are addressed with research-based interventions within the school setting. To assure this, parents must have a basic understanding of special education services, their child’s rights, and their own.

This Guide is designed as a resource for parents. Its purpose is to give each family the information and tools needed to successfully navigate the education system anywhere in the country. More specifically, it offers:

Background on special education in the United States

An understanding of the laws and regulations about special education

An overview of the timeline of services

A detailed explanation of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)

Tips and techniques for being an effective advocate

Sources and links that will help you identify specific state resources and find more in-depth information

Lists and definitions of terms that are frequently used in school systems

To download right click on the above link and choose "Save Target As" to save the guide to your PC. You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the Guide.

Reproduction Policy:

These guidebooks are available for use by all those whose lives are affected by autism. In keeping with OAR's mission, the information included in these books may be utilized for personal use, teaching, research, for IEP meetings or any other capacity in order to facilitate the dissemination of information. You may reproduce (print, make photocopies, or download) these materials without prior permission for non-commercial purposes. If used professionally, OAR asks that the you provide proper attribution of the source in all copies.